The present invention relates to a device for pulling through cables for underground chambers. It is aimed more specifically at a device for guiding fiber-optic cables or other categories of cables (coaxial, video, computer, telephone, etc. cables), or even cables intended for carrying electricity, through underground chambers comprising inlet and outlet orifices which are not placed in the same horizontal or vertical plane.
Thus, when an underground chamber has a change in level between the cable inlet and outlet orifices, it is necessary to fit deflection pulleys, commonly one or perhaps two of these, to route the cable between these two levels.
Now, while the cable is being routed through the deflection pulley or pulleys, and during the pulling-through operation, the tensile forces imposed on the end of the cable or cables induce additional strains and a high probability of the risk of damage to the cable jacket and to the fibers inserted inside this jacket, it being possible even for the strains induced to lead to fiber breakage.
Document DE 381 597 discloses a device for guiding a cable through an underground chamber, routing between two directions. This device comprises an arm supporting a guide pulley, the latter being borne by a chassis routing over the chamber. In addition, the chassis comprises a crank system allowing the axis of the pulley support arm to be transversely offset.
The known devices comprise a guide system equipped with a number of bogie-shaped rollers which are juxtaposed and held between two elbowed end plates. These end plates, because of their radius of curvature, impart a direction change of 45, 90 or even 180xc2x0 to the cables routed tangentially to the bogies, this end plate being equipped with a laterally projecting tab able to fasten to a support leg secured to the underground chamber.
The main disadvantage with this type of modular guidance device lies particularly in the fact that it allows adjustment in just one direction, in X, in Y or in Z.
The present invention therefore aims to alleviate these drawbacks by proposing a modular guidance device which is not only suited to the characteristics of the cables (minimum bend radius allowed for the cable) but which can easily be adapted to suit any particular configuration encountered when pulling a cable through an underground chamber, and mainly of allowing multi-directional adjustment.
To this end, the modular guidance device which is the subject of the invention, is characterized in that it comprises a number of rollers which are juxtaposed and held in position by end plates, the end plates having a support leg for connecting said modular guidance device to a support member secured to an underground chamber, the support leg comprising, between its two ends, an articulation means allowing said modular guidance device to be oriented in all three dimensions with respect to the support member according to the relative arrangements of inlet or outlet orifices for the cable or cables routed through said underground chamber.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the description given hereinafter with reference to the appended drawings which illustrate one exemplary and entirely nonlimiting embodiment thereof. In the figures: